


The Pursuit

by ChuckHedge



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M, More tags to be added, Rating will change, Slow Build, percico pining in reverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-04-19 11:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4744100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChuckHedge/pseuds/ChuckHedge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy had never really paid all that much attention to Nico. And certainly not that kind of attention. Nico had been a chatterbox ten year old, then an angry eleven year old, and at twelve Percy stopped paying attention altogether. </p><p>The moment Nico is done is the moment Percy starts to pay attention.</p><p>He likes what he sees.</p><p>Or, the one where Percy is doggedly determined to fix their friendship, and Nico really starts to regret coming clean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

α

“Nico didn’t understand my decision.”

Bianca looks at Percy, her dark eyes fragile and looking for assurance.

Nico would never know, and Percy wouldn’t realize until years later, but this is where everything starts.

It starts in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, with the smell of pine trees in the crisp, cold air. Their breath is visible with every exhale, the day quiet and the sun low in the sky.

“He’ll be alright,” Percy assures her.

(But Nico won’t be alright. Not for a long time.)

“Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did it for Annabeth,” he says.

(Nico doesn’t stay a week.)

“If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You’re a good guy.”

Percy stands there with Bianca, equally surprised and pleased by the compliment, the rubber rat Percy bought the only witness to a conversation he would never forget.

Bianca asks no promises of him.

It’s just as well. He never would have been able to keep them.

(At least, that’s what he tells himself.)

β

Bianca’s life vanishes as swift as a candle going out, and Nico feels it in his bones. It’s a moment and an eternity all at once, a buzzing in his ears as something inside of him contracts and collapses, an end and a beginning.

He doesn’t want to believe it, but when Percy comes back, Bianca isn’t with him.

And Nico screams and hates and cries, and Percy isn’t the hero he thought he was. And when the ground splits open like a gaping wound, like that place inside him after Bianca’s death, it’s terrifying and he runs, grieving and scared and alone, and it doesn’t matter that it’s snowing, it doesn’t matter that there’s a blizzard just outside the camp borders, he doesn’t stop running until he falls, falls down into the deep and the dark, falls until he meets a judge of souls.

Looking back, Nico was lucky to have stumbled upon the labyrinth. It had saved him from the elements. Looking back, he was lucky to have stumbled upon Minos. He had saved him from the labyrinth itself.

γ

When Percy tells Chiron about Nico’s disappearance, he doesn’t think about Bianca.

He doesn’t think about her confidence in the camp, her belief that as long as there were people like Percy around, Nico would be fine.

He doesn’t think about what Bianca’s reaction would have been, after Percy told Chiron a grief stricken ten year old ran out into the snow and the night.

“So young,” Chiron says. “Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titan’s army.”

The camp never looks for Nico.

Percy does, and he thinks about Bianca.

δ

Nico learns a lot in the labyrinth. The presence of Minos assures him a certain measure of safety and guidance, and so he learns the depth of a shadow and the value of a soul.

He talks to the dead, and they tell him all kinds of things. They speak of the past, and some of them divine the future. One ghost, a daughter of Hades, chronicles her life as a child of the Underworld, and the sum of her life scares Nico more than he would ever admit.

Minos talks about vengeance and calls it justice, but Nico knows better.

Nico wonders why Bianca refuses to talk to him.

He calls her so many times.

He needs to talk to her more than anything, he needs it more than food or a safe place to sleep.

ε

Percy gets Iris-messages from an unknown sender, but it doesn’t take long to figure out who sent them. They show him Nico’s whereabouts, and at the time he thinks that they show him Nico’s mind.

Most of all they show him a trail to recognize, and when he comes across a ditch filled with soda and French fries he knows Nico’s close by, and it fills him with a rare urgency.

Years later, he thinks about all the faith Bianca put into him, and with shame he wonders what she could have possibly been thinking.

ζ

“Hello, Percy.”

When Bianca finally answers his summons, the first words out of her mouth are directed at Percy and it hurts like a knife buried in his chest, twisting and cruel.

And when she finally talks to Nico, she tells him to give up. She tells him to forgive Percy, that he had been worried about Nico, that he could help, that she let him see what Nico was doing, hoping he would find him.

Percy. Percy. Percy.

Bianca really had a high estimation of him.

Sometimes, he wonders if he would have forgiven Percy without Bianca’s insistence. Sometimes he wonders why she even bothered.

η

It was one of his worst moments, not that he knew it at the time. It’s not something he likes to think about, but there it is.

Nico stares at Percy, tells him he doesn’t belong.

“You could be accepted,” Percy says. “You could have friends at camp.”

Nico looks at him carefully. “Do you really believe that, Percy?”

Percy doesn’t answer.

“There’s a reason they didn’t put a cabin to Hades here, Percy. He’s not welcome, any more than he is on Olympus. I don’t belong. I have to go.”

Percy wants to argue, but he doesn’t. Because he knows Nico is right, remembers Pan’s exclusion of him, knows that Nico would have to find his own way through the dark.

There was so much that Percy didn’t know, so much he didn’t consider.

“Do you really believe that, Percy?”

How that question haunts him.

He was fifteen, and he thought Nico hated him.

His silence never should have meant as much as it did.

θ

Sometimes Nico wonders about the resilience of his stupid crush on stupid Percy.

After all, it was born out of hero worship, out of mythomagic come to life to save his sister, to save Nico. Percy was brave and handsome and the closest thing to a real life pirate he had ever seen, and the crush was instantaneous.

However, the honeymoon period didn’t last so much as a week.

In the end Percy had failed to save Bianca, but still Nico had liked him, determined as he was to hate him.

He should have let it go so many times, for so many reasons.

In truth, Nico didn’t know Percy all that well, and Percy knew Nico even less. They hardly spent any time together, but maybe that was part of the problem. As few moments as Nico spent with Percy, he spent fewer still with anyone else.

He lived isolated with the dead, and the only living person he had let himself care about was Percy, and he just couldn’t bring himself to stop. If that happened, then he wouldn’t have anyone at all.

And so he kept his eyes open and stuck to the shadows, and figured out what Percy needed to survive the coming war.

ι

It’s not something that Percy understands, not until much later.

But when Nico tricks him into an audience with Hades, it’s the birth of an injury he never lets go.

It doesn’t matter that Nico gets him out within minutes.

It doesn’t matter that Nico lacks guile, that he believed his father when he said it was just a talk, that he was visibly and obviously upset.

None of that matters.

It doesn’t matter that Nico wants to go with him, wants to help.

It doesn’t matter what might happen to Nico if he stays in the underworld after orchestrating a jailbreak, after giving Percy the ability to plough through the dead and humiliate his father.

It doesn’t even matter when Nico comes when he calls for help, an undead army at his back and three gods at his side.

He never lets it go.

And when the seven are on their way to Rome, Nico dying by inches in a clay jar, he tells them about the time Nico tricked him, how his loyalties aren’t always certain.

It’s strange to him in hindsight, because Percy has never been one for grudges.

But then again, maybe that’s the point.

κ

When the seven finally rescue him, Nico feels like he’s hanging on by a thread.

He’s a son of Hades, and when he takes that first breath in the wake of consciousness he knows intuitively just how close he has come to a place of permanence by his father’s side.

Naturally, Percy’s first words to him are of condemnation.

“You knew about the two camps all along. You could have told me who I was the first day I arrived at Camp Jupiter, but you didn’t.”

Nico can barely lift his head up, but Hazel is a solid weight at his side, and maybe Percy’s lack of compassion towards him doesn’t hurt quite as much as it used to.

He thinks that his reasons should be obvious, but he apologizes anyway.

λ

For the duration of the week or so before the rescue, Percy imagines a lot of scathing things he might say to Nico when they meet again.

Most of the words never make it to the surface, the frailness of Nico’s body and the shattered glass of his eyes softens the hard edge of anger inside him.

But still. While Nico was dying, Percy had been preparing verbal ammo to shoot his way at the first opportunity.

And after Percy falls and falls, after he and Annabeth are rescued by a Titan with stories of a boy who never forsakes his friends, of a promise to help Percy Jackson, a promise kept.

That’s when everything hits him.

Shame, guilt, and the knowledge that when it came to Nico di Angelo, Percy Jackson didn’t understand a single thing.

μ

Before, when Nico had thoughts of love and friendship, he would only think of Percy. Percy rescuing him from the manticore, Percy bartering and then fighting for Nico’s freedom when he was captured at the ranch, Percy inviting him in for blue birthday cake, Percy’s eyes and his hands and his smile.

Things are different now.

Now he thinks of Jason’s smile, the way someone can be so ridiculously happy at the prospect of being friends with someone like him, the way he kept reaching out, the way Nico was sure he always would.

He thinks of Reyna’s eyes, how someone can be so strong yet vulnerable, how quickly and unreservedly he came to see her as family, the secrets shared between them.

He thinks of Will and his hands, of skeletal butterflies and possibilities.

He thinks about all the names and faces unknown to him at both camps, and he thinks maybe he can be accepted after all.

He thinks, for the first time, that even if Percy isn’t one of those people, it will be okay.

When Nico tells Percy about his crush, he means it when he puts it in the past tense.

When Nico tells Percy about his crush, it’s supposed to be an ending.

It was only the beginning.

The moment Nico is done is the moment Percy starts to pay attention.


	2. A Confession to an Adversary

Shock wasn't a strong enough word.

Nico's confession had all the impact of a nuclear bomb going off inside Percy's head, and every living thought was vaporized in the shockwave. By the time Nico was high fiving Annabeth and walking away, Percy's brain had officially gone dark. There were no thoughts left. Percy was so stunned he couldn't even blink.

"Percy...are you okay?"

Everything was silent. Percy was lost at sea.

"Percy?"

Suddenly Annabeth's grey eyes were in his vision, the familiar warmth of her hands lightly touching his shoulders.

"You okay there Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, and when Percy registered that particular brand of amusement in her voice, he frowned instinctively, though he didn't really hear the words.

It took another moment for Percy to come back to himself. When his mind cleared, Annabeth was looking up at him, the suggestion of laughter in the curve of her smile. "Welcome back Percy, I was beginning to think you had left me for good. All that seaweed in your brain was bound to cause problems of a more permanent nature sooner or later."

Percy narrowed his eyes at her and she laughed, her smile fond. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well...I was surprised."

"Percy, you looked like you were struck by lightning. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so shocked in my life," Annabeth smiled. "But I know what you mean. Still," Annabeth's eyes had a sharpness to them as she looked towards the front of the infirmary where Nico had disappeared with Will Solace behind a privacy curtain, a sharpness that Percy always associated with Annabeth figuring out the answer to a particularly difficult puzzle. "It makes sense."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "It does?" He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope, nuh uh, sorry. This doesn't, I—after everything, he couldn't—that is, I mean..." Gods, he still couldn't think.

Annabeth took his hand and threaded their fingers together, the gesture familiar and comforting. "We were wondering, weren't we? Bob promised to help you. Now we know why Nico would ask that promise from him. I couldn't figure it out before, but it makes sense. A lot of things do."

Percy stared at her, and it was an almost overwhelming thing, to know that she was right.

It made sense.

Then another thought occurred to him. "Hey, why did you high five Nico?" That was the farthest thing from Annabeth's usual reaction to someone liking Percy.

Annabeth pressed her lips together. "When he was talking to you, he had this uneasy look about him. I'll be the first to admit that Nico is hard to read, but honestly? I think he was scared. Scared in a way I've never seen Nico before. I guess I wanted to let him know that there was nothing to be afraid of. At least from us."

Percy was silent for a moment. He looked at the floor. "He ran away before I could say anything."

Annabeth smiled. "Well, you got a few words out, but it was mostly sounds of confusion." When Percy pouted at her, she leaned up and kissed him, a fleeting brush of lips. "I think it's better this way. You should get your head together before you talk to him." She reached out her hand and gently brushed her fingers across his cheek. She pressed close to Percy and kissed him again, deeper this time, slower.

When she pulled away, she nipped at Percy's bottom lip.

Percy grinned crookedly. "Ah, there it is. I was wondering."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy's neck, the heat of her body still pressed close. "Hmm?"

Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a smile where shoulder meets neck. "You had me going there with that high five. But the truth comes out."

"Percy, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing. I mean, we all get a little green eyed sometimes. No big deal."

Annabeth pulled away from him and gave him a look. "I'm not jealous, Percy Jackson. Least of all of a child's former crush. "

"Uh huh."

"Really I'm not."

"Of course. I believe you," Percy nodded sagely.

Annabeth crossed her arms against her chest.

Percy grinned at her.

Annabeth sighed. "Whatever. I need to go meet Jason. I'll see you later, Seaweed Brain. Don't go stealing too many hearts when I'm not around to watch you."

α

It was that moment all over again.

That moment when his twelve year old self finally came to fathom the full extent of his mother's devotion, that moment when all the things he could never understand about her suddenly revealed themselves with startling clarity.

Twelve years.

Twelve years of guacamole and poker cards, harsh words and harsher hands. Twelve years of submission and sacrifice, of small acts of disobedience and all the pleasures of blue food coloring. Twelve years of sharing a bed with a man so revolting not a monster in New York would go near the son of the sea god, such was the effect of Gabe Ugliano and all who shared in his company.

For years Percy had never understood. Why his mother stayed with his step father. Why she married the rat bastard in the first place. He loved his mother, but sometimes he wanted to shake her, snap her out of the fool's paradise she seemed to live in. There was nothing worthwhile about Gabe. He was a bully, the precursor of everything Percy came to hate in the world.

And then Percy knew everything he could never understand.

He knew that Sally Jackson wasted twelve years of her life catering to the whims of her loveless husband, because Percy had needed her too.

It was him the whole time. He had always wondered what really tied his mother to Gabe so steadfastly, and Percy himself was the ball, the chain and the broken key.

It was a horrible realization to have, and there is no heavier burden on the heart than the inescapable weight of guilt.

Percy made a promise to himself in that moment. He would not rely on someone else to protect him. He would not allow someone else to get hurt on his account, like his mother had done for him. Twelve years was more than enough. It would be the last time. He had to be strong enough to be the protector himself.

He had promised himself it was the last time.

But he hadn't been paying attention.

And the implications of what Nico had done for him were overwhelming.

β

The next day, Percy was intent on finding Nico.

Percy hadn't felt such a strong urgency to talk to someone, to explain himself and get answers in return, since the time he tracked down the son of Hades in the labyrinth.

Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the easiest demigod to find. He didn't show up at breakfast, and there was no answer when he knocked on the door of the Hades cabin. He had tried the door handle and found it to be unlocked, but there was no one inside when he opened the door.

No one seemed to have seen the son of Hades when he asked around camp, but he got lucky when Will Solace pointed him in the direction of the lake.

He passed by Nico twice before he finally noticed him. The shadows around Nico were always deeper, always darker. They seemed to reach out for him, and it made him hard to spot when he stuck to the shadows, like he was doing now. It didn't help that Nico was always so still, like a rabbit aware of a predator.

It was such a stark difference from the way he had been as a child, and for a moment Percy wondered how much of it was his fault, how much of it was simply necessity, and with a growing sense of guilt in his stomach it occurs to him that these two things are far from mutually exclusive, rather they go hand in hand. The child he knew couldn't have survived without the protection of the grounds of Camp Half-Blood, and certainly not on his own. One way or another, the child would have died. At least this way, Nico could still live.

The son of Hades was sitting in the shade of a tree by the lake, watching the mock naval battle between the Hermes and Ares cabins. Percy approached, and hoped with all his might that Nico wouldn't shut him down and shadow travel away from him when Percy broached a topic he didn't like, as he inevitably would. Gods, all it usually took for Nico to run away from him was Percy looking at him and opening his mouth.

Trying to appear casual, like he wasn't up all night preparing himself for this conversation, Percy took a seat beside Nico, the verdant grass folding under him and sticking to the skin of his calves.

They sat in silence for a moment, watched as the Ares ship tried to ram the hull of the Hermes ship, the Hermes' oarsmen rapidly rowing to outpace them.

Surprisingly, it was Nico who broke the silence.

"You know, I always wanted to try that," he kept his eyes on the ships, where Hermes bowman were firing paint covered rubber arrows at the Ares oarsmen, their marines hurrying to cover them with shields.

Percy turned to look at him. "The trireme battles?" He asked. Nico nodded. "I didn't think you'd be into that kind of thing." Children of the Big Three tended to dislike the other's sphere of influence instinctively. Concessions were always made in battle, but Percy had no plans to spend any more time up in the air or under the ground than he absolutely had too.

Nico shrugged and looked down, fiddling with the skull ring he always seemed to be wearing. "When we were going to school in Maine, Bianca got me this book series about pirates. I was obsessed." Nico looked at Percy, met his eyes for just a moment, and then looked back down at his hands. "I think it's a big part of why I had a crush on you, in the beginning."

Percy couldn't keep himself from smiling a little, relaxing into the conversation. Nico was talking, and it didn't look like he was going to ditch Percy anytime soon. "Pirates, huh."

"Shut up, I was ten." Nico glared at him, a hint of color heating his pale cheeks.

"You know, that's pretty embarrassing," Percy grinned as Nico glared at him. "I think I have you beat though. Mermaids."

Nico just looked at him. "Mermaids?"

Percy nodded sagely. "When I was ten, I was obsessed with mermaids. I begged my mom to get me the Aerial costume on Halloween, then I tossed the top and the wig and wore the fin pants to school for an entire month. The teacher called my mother every day, because I wouldn't stop taking my shirt off."

The corner of Nico's mouth twitched, and Percy wondered what it would take to get a smile. "Well, I can't compete with that. If I ever did anything worse, I can't remember it."

They fell into silence after that, not quite as uncomfortable as the first. On the lake, the Ares cabin had succeeded in breaking the enemies oars and were in the process of getting ready to raid the Hermes ship.

"I'm sorry." Percy broke the silence, his words a shaky bridge between them.

Nico let out a soft sigh, and very carefully did not meet Percy's eyes. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Percy. You didn't know because I didn't want you to know."

Percy shook his head. "It's not about that. Annabeth didn't notice either, and she can read people better than anybody."

"Then what's it about?" Nico asked, still not meeting his eyes. He looked strangely fragile in that moment, and Percy wanted to reach out to him like he should have done years ago, wanted to make Nico look at him, but he knew it was a bad idea.

Instead, he fisted his hands in the grass so they wouldn't reach out, and he looked at Nico, willing him to meet his eyes. " I've been thinking a lot, after Bob, and especially after yesterday. Ever since the night you ran away, I was convinced you hated me, that you would always hate me. When I look back, it should have been obvious that wasn't the case. But I was convinced that you could never forgive me after what happened with Bianca. Of course you hated me. How could you not? How could you ever forgive me when I couldn't even forgive myself?"

Percy bit his lip."After you showed up at my place, for a few months I thought we could actually be friends. Maybe you didn't hate me after all. And then the underworld happened, and I ended up in a prison cell, and I was so angry at myself, because of course it was a trap. You would always hate me. Bianca was dead. And I could never trust you."

Percy pulled out a few strands of grass, keeping his hands busy. "I've been angry with you for a long time, you know? Whenever I looked at you, all I could see was how much I failed you. How one day, you would get me back for it. Loyalty is my fatal flaw after all, and when you got captured by the giants I told everyone that—" Percy had to stop himself for a moment. "And then I find out the truth. And suddenly, all the things I could never figure out about you make sense. It should have been obvious, just how much you were looking out for me. And it kills me, because I am the last person you should have been protecting. It should have been the other way around. You were too young and too alone, and I should have been looking out for you. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Percy didn't know when he'd started crying, but he was suddenly aware of tears streaming down his cheeks. He'd never felt so guilty before, never felt like he had failed someone so entirely, and it hurt.

Finally, Nico's brown eyes meet his, wet under dark lashes. "Like I said, there's nothing to be sorry for. I wasn't your responsibility."

Percy shook his head. "I should have been a better friend to you."

Nico laughed without humor. "We were never friends in the first place Percy, not really."

That hurt more than he thought it would. Mostly because it was true. "Maybe, but I'd still like the chance to fix it, if you'd let me."

Nico looked at him silently for a moment, then looked away in the next. "I suppose that would be alright."

Percy let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Well, it was a start.


	3. He Fell

α

His name was Romero Saldutti.

Long in the tooth, yet young in the heart, the man was well known and well loved in the community. He had worked as a craftsman for most of his life, hand making masks for _Carnevale_. He had to close shop after the government outlawed the festival in the wake of the fascist regime, but he kept bits and pieces of it alive in the community so that kids like Bianca and Nico, born years after the fact, could experience it in some small way.

Bianca and Nico would come home from school with confetti in their hair, and their mother would smile, kiss the tops of their heads, and that evening they would make _chiacchiere._ They would always make an extra batch for Romero, and he always got a kick from getting angel wings from the di Angelo family.

It was a cruel thing, to remember this part of his life so vividly, when the vast majority of Nico's life before the Lotus Hotel was still unknown to him, untold secrets hidden by a sweeping darkness in the back of his mind, close at hand but ever untouchable.

In the rare moments when he remembered something, the memories were like flashes of color, stark against a black backdrop. Maybe it was a small thing, to know he had his mother's eyes for all the intensity of his father's, that Bianca had his mother's smile, or that they both took after her in many ways. It was a small thing, but it felt overwhelmingly important. It felt like belonging.

Still, there was so much he couldn't remember, and it was a cruel, cruel thing.

His name was Romero Saldutti.

He was well known and well loved.

But when they found out his long time housemate Stefano Carluccio was more than that, that they were lovers...

They hung them both at Piazza San Marco. The police didn't even try to stop them. No arrests were ever made.

Nico remembers getting the news.

But that's it. He can't remember how his mother took the news, or Bianca. Not the look in their eyes, not the line of their lips, not the words that they spoke.

He can't remember.

And it's a cruel, cruel thing.

β

Blackjack's mane is smooth under his fingers, the steady beat of his heart strong and comforting. He had a blue, no chew bandage wrapped around the gash in his flank, but despite taking an arrow from a giant, the pegasus was healing up surprisingly well.

When Reyna showed up at the battle without Blackjack, Nico had been worried. But the horse took after his owner in more ways than one. Nico was grateful, but really, he shouldn't be surprised. Any pegasus that regularly carried Percy Jackson around had to be resilient. Percy was a danger magnet, he couldn't go a year without getting sucked into a save the world quest. Someone was always trying to kill him.

And suddenly, Nico had a newfound respect for Blackjack. Nico knew first hand just how exhausting it was to try to keep Percy Jackson from dying and/or getting himself killed.

Then again, Nico didn't have much room to talk. He had a ridiculously consistent record of being part of a quest without ever actually going on one. Maybe that was worse. At least Percy knew when he was on a quest. Nico always found out after the fact. Hades, he could be part of someone's quest right now and not even know it.

Nico shook his head. That was a ridiculous notion. The Oracle of Delphi was out of commission for the time being, but he did hear a prophesy from Ella when he was dreaming...nope, he wasn't going to think about that one.

Blackjack butted Nico affectionately after deciding his mind had wondered too long, and Nico resumed feeding the horse sugar cubes and petting him in turns. In the other stalls the pegasi moved restlessly. They kept their eyes on Nico, their ears pricked toward him, alert for any sudden movement in their direction. They probably thought that Blackjack was crazy or suicidal or both, and once again Nico thought that yes, this was definitely Percy Jackson's pegasus.

Making animals uncomfortable by virtue of his heritage was not exactly his favorite past-time, and usually he'd make an effort to avoid the stables for this very reason. But for some inexplicable reason, Blackjack liked Nico, something he thought impossible for any animal. It was a small miracle, and it felt something like hope, leant that much more credence to Nico's decision to stay at Camp Half-Blood.

He could do this. He could be accepted. He just had to try.

And visiting Blackjack first thing in the morning gave him courage.

γ

When Nico di Angelo walks into the mess hall pavilion, there is a moment when everything stops.

Words still on the cusp of lips, eyes widen and bodies tense. For one heartbeat, Nico’s presence washes over all signs of life, and like a void it robs everyone of breath and movement. For an instant, all eyes are on the son of Hades, and the weight of their collective gaze falls heavy and unforgiving upon him. Fear, hate, and pity permeate the air, and when he breathes in he thinks he can taste it, hot and bitter on his tongue.

And then Jake Mason drops one of his crutches and the moment shatters, and suddenly there is life again. Breath and movement bleed back into the world, and voices pick up, continuing conversations paused just long enough to acknowledge how much the Son of Hades does not belong.

Nico tries not to let it get to him, but it's hard not to. It was nothing less than what he was expecting after all, yet he chose to stay at Camp Half-Blood anyway. He chose to stick it out, chose to take a chance. The camper's opinions wouldn't change on the turn of a dime.

He knew what they saw when they looked at him, knew that they saw death and darkness and the inevitable.

In times of war it was something they welcomed, because death and darkness are always welcomed when directed at the enemy. It's a strangely invincible feeling, to have the Reaper bear arms at your side. In times of peace, however...

"Hey, Nico!"

He's taken out of his thoughts when Jason Grace waves him over from where he's seated at the Zeus table. Nico shoots a glance at Chiron at the head table, and satisfied that the centaur is otherwise pre-occupied, he makes his way over. He's uncomfortably aware of the eyes on him as he sits down across from Jason, but when Jason smiles at him in that way he does, like he's always pleased to see him, it's kind of hard to care.

Jason eyes the small amount of food on his plate like he wants to say something, and Nico tenses, prepared to go on the defensive, but what comes out of Jason's mouth is, "You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

"Um, what?"

"It's just that I've never seen you eat meat before," Jason says, gesturing to the orange slices on Nico's plate. "I mean Piper is too so—"

"I'm not," Nico says quickly, surprised that Jason had noticed. "I just...I don't know, we don't usually eat a lot of meat in the underworld. I guess it's just a habit," Nico shrugged. "I've never really thought about it before."

"Well, in that case," Jason grins at him, and before Nico can stop him he grabs a hand full of bacon and unceremoniously deposits it on Nico's plate. "Welcome to the land of the living Nico, we've been waiting for you. I think you'll like it here. We have bacon."

Nico can only look at him for a moment. Jason's smile is earnest, and despite himself Nico feels fond.

"Thanks I guess," Nico finally manages, taking a bite of bacon. "But don't think I don't know what you just did there."

Jason rubs the back of his neck, and they're both quiet for a moment.

"Seriously though Nico," Jason says. "I'm really glad you decided to stay."

Nico looks down at his plate, unable to meet Jason's eyes at the moment. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Percy looking at them from the Poseidon table. He looked like he wanted to come over, and somehow Nico thought that he should. None of them should have to eat alone.

"Yeah. Me too."


	4. This Time It's Different

α

For Percy Jackson, making friends came as easy to him as breathing. It happened naturally, a happy consequence of his fatal flaw.

It was never something he had to work at, never something that took much thought or effort.

Not with Grover, or Rachel, or anyone at camp. Not with Hazel or Frank, with his memory or without. And not with Annabeth, not even when she became something more. The transition from friend to lover was seamless; it just happened. They just were.

Nico, he was quickly learning, was another matter entirely. As he was in most things, Nico was different.

β

Percy would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit surprised when Nico joined Jason at his table the morning after they had their conversation by the lakeside.

He hadn't been aware that the two were on friendly terms, but then again, he hadn't been around for that particular leg of the quest.

Still, the fact that Nico felt comfortable enough to join Jason at table one was a very good sign. So many times before, Nico had shied away from the dining pavilion, uncertain in his welcome.

Maybe it was too small a happening for Percy to feel so encouraged by it, but he felt that way all the same.

He watched the two of them for a minute before turning in his seat, catching Annabeth's eyes from her position at the Athena table. He waggled his eyebrows at her and tilted his head in the direction of table one. She raised an eyebrow, turning her gaze towards the Aphrodite table, and he knew that she understood.

"This seat taken?" Percy wasted no time dropping into the seat next to Nico, Annabeth on his other side. Piper took a seat across the table, next to Jason.

If Jason was surprised by the sudden company, he didn't show it. And really he shouldn't be, because one of them breaking the seating rules was nothing short of a come hither for the rest, and Percy, who suffered in meal time solitude summer after summer, was especially susceptible.

Nico, however, must have missed the memo. In a matter of seconds, Percy watched the ease he displayed so rarely drain out of him. The boy tensed next to Percy, and too late he realized that maybe Nico was the type that, before diving in completely, needed to dip his feet in and get used to the water.

Nico's anxious energy was catching, and for a few awkward moments the table was silent.

"So," Percy finally directed at Jason. "How's the shrine planning coming along? Annabeth's helping you right?"

Jason nodded. "She has a great idea, but..."

"It'll take about forty-million truckloads of strawberries to pay for it," Annabeth finished for him. "I pitched the shrine idea to Chiron before, I thought it would be a good tribute for our parents. He shot me down, but it's different this time. And our _Pontifex Maximus_ here is on the hook."

"The shrines aren't an option anymore," Jason continued. "They are a must. It won't be much of a problem to build additional shrines for the minor gods on Temple Hill in New Rome. We...they, have the organization and resources. Camp Half-Blood on the other hand..."

"Has neither of those things," Piper supplied.

"Hey, we can be organized if we want to," Percy defended. Well, at least in battle they could. Mostly.

"I know Percy," Annabeth laughed. "We'll have a counselor meeting once we figure things out. But right now, we have to figure out how to fund the shrines. Chiron said he might have a solution, but he didn't seem that confidant about it. For the time being, we're sitting on our hands."

The entire conversation, Percy was keenly aware of Nico sitting silently by his side, pushing the food around on his plate with a fork. Percy tried to think about a way to bring the kid into the conversation.

"Hey, what about Nico?" Percy turned in his seat to look at him fully. "Your dad is the god of wealth, right?"

Nico opened his mouth, then shut it, pausing a little. "Yeah, so?"

"You're always doing errands for him aren't you? So, maybe you can talk your way into a steep allowance. "

At Nico's baffled look, Percy asked, "You do get allowance right?"

"Does _your_ godly father give _you_ an allowance?" Nico asked.

"....Okay, good point. Stupid question."

"Hmm, maybe not that stupid," Annabeth said. "That may have given me an idea. I'll have to talk it over with Chiron, but I think it can work."

"That's great!" Jason said. "The sooner we can get this done, the better."

They talked a little more about their plans for the shrines, Nico contributing rarely. He was also the first to excuse himself from their company, but he didn't get very far before Percy was up and following after him.

"Hey Nico, wait up!"

Some campers stared as Percy jogged to catch up with Nico, who had stopped just outside of the dining pavilion.

"So, I was thinking we could hang out today," Percy grinned.

For a moment Nico just stared at him, and Percy's shoulders weighed heavy with the possibility of rejection.

"What's with that look? Do I have something on my face?" Percy tried for levity, but honestly he was nervous. This was important. Fixing his relationship with Nico felt important in a way few things did.

"No, it's just that," Nico shook his head. "Never mind." He shrugged. "What did you have in mind?"

Percy dug his hands in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a foil wrapped pack of mythomagic cards. He held it up to Nico with an air of triumph. "I don't know how to play at all, but I remembered how much you liked the game. I hope you're a good teacher, because my mythomagic life is in your hands."

Percy had thought long and hard about ways they could spend time together, and he honestly thought this would be a great start. Something they could do while having small talk, a low pressure way to get to know one another past the jagged edges of their past. And Nico would be in his element, while Percy was the pupil, so he would be more confident, more relaxed in his company.

Percy really thought he had it right, but this was Nico, and when was Percy ever right about Nico.

Something flashed in Nico's eyes, something a lot like pain, and Percy was at a loss.

Nico closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and met Percy's gaze. "It's...very thoughtful of you Percy, thank you. But...I don't think it's going to work out."

"What? Why?"

"Because I burned every card I owned. Because it seemed so stupid after the fact. When I was a kid, I wanted so much for mythomagic to be real. Then it was."

And Bianca died, amongst other things, and Percy thinks he understands.

"I hated myself, for ever wanting that. I was such a stupid kid."

"Right..." well, once again, Percy felt like a failure of a friend. But at the same time, he felt like he was finally getting somewhere with Nico for the first time in what felt like forever. Nico had opened up to him, if only just a little. "I'm sorry, it's just...I remembered how happy it made you. And I wanted...I didn't think..."

Percy looked at Nico with his patented sad, baby seal eyes, and Nico sighed. "You don't have to apologize Percy, I just...do you have any more cards?"

It was Percy's turn to stare. "Why do you ask?"

Nico folded his arms across his chest. "Because you're right. It did make me happy. And If you really are interested in playing with me..." Nico looked away. "I think it could make me happy again. Especially if you're, well, I never really had anyone to play with before. So yeah."

Percy couldn't keep the grin off his face. "I have a couple of starter packs in my cabin. And hey, if you're that out of practice, maybe I won't immediately get my ass kicked."

Nico smiled, just a little. "I wouldn't count on it, Jackson."


	5. Sowing Season

α

It's not something Nico would have ever expected.

Percy sits across from him on the floor of the Poseidon Cabin, legs crossed and shoulders loose. His green eyes study the deck of cards in his hands, but Nico knows they don't hold much of his attention. Like the ocean shifts, so does Percy's gaze, flitting to Nico, his cards, and back again.

The steady babble of the salt water fountain plays constant in the background, and the whole situation feels incredibly surreal.

Honestly, Nico had planned to stay well away from Percy after his confession. Avoidance was the game plan, and Nico was a seasoned player.

But after Percy tracked him down, the way he looked at him and the things he said. There was no way, Nico didn't have it in him. If Percy wanted to be his friend, a fraction of what Nico used to want, but more than he ever expected, than Nico wouldn't walk away from him, as much as he'd like to run far and away and forever.

And so here Nico was, playing a card game he renounced with fire and tears, with Percy Jackson, the boy whose gaze shifted the moment Nico gave him up.

Well, stranger things have happened.

Percy groaned, stealing Nico's attention from his thoughts.

"Are you kidding me?" Percy picked up one of the cards in the deck he'd been going through, and in a typical rookie move, he flipped it over and showed it to Nico. "Out of all of the God cards, they give me this."

The God card was Dionysus. His attack was on the weak side, but Nico had always liked the card. If you activated the right Trick card, he could inebriate the opponent's Hero, Monster, and God cards, and that was always a strategy with interesting results.

"It just had to be him. And weak on top of that." Percy was holding the card with such distaste, Nico had to fight off a smile. It was no secret that Percy and Mr. D held no love for each other. Nico could relate. If he had wound up with Cupid, Nico would have stormed out, coincidences be damned.

"That's actually better than mine." Nico showed Percy the God card he ended up with, Hephaestus.

"But Hephaestus has a much higher attack," Percy said. "How is mine better?"

"God cards can be augmented with Hero and Trick cards, their base stats don't mean much. And Dionysus gets much better enhancements. Here let me show you." Nico scooted closer to Percy and started to help him go through his deck. He pointed out the cards that would go well with his God card, and why, tried to impart some basic principles of mythomagic strategy.

He stopped when he caught Percy smiling at him, and raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you even paying attention?"

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It's just, it's been awhile you know. Since you talked to me like that."

"Talked like what?" Nico asked.

Percy shrugged. "It's kind of hard to explain but...I don't know, after the battle in Manhattan, for awhile it was like, when you were talking to me you wanted to be anywhere else." Percy gestured to Nico. "You have a presence; you occupy your own space. So it's easy to tell, you know. That you weren't present before."

For a moment, Nico is silent.

Percy is right. Nico hadn't wanted to be anywhere near him. It was painful, and he always had the thought that Percy didn't want him there either, not after visiting an underworld prison cell. But friendship is a two way street, and the more Nico avoided, the more Percy thought Nico hated him, the more he mistrusted. And so Nico avoided him, was dismissive of him, even more. It was a vicious circle.

"Oh. Sorry." It was all Nico could think to say.

Percy shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that I just..." He sighed and picked up a Trick card. "Uh, can you tell me how to use this one again I...wasn't paying attention."

Nico's lips turned up for only a moment, but Percy smiled back.

β

Now, despite Nico's early fantasies of piratedom, he still had very real reservations about the water. It felt weird, to be away from the land, the same way it did all the way to the House of Hades in Epirus.

Currently, his reservations are about the Canoe Lake at camp, in which there is a boat, a boat that the son of Poseidon talked the son of Hades into, proclaiming it the first step to realizing his trireme dreams.

It was a week after their first mythomagic card game, and they were sitting in the boat facing each other, each with a pair of oar handles in their hands.

The July sun shone hot and heavy on the lake, and for once Nico wasn't missing his aviator's jacket.

"Are you sure about this Percy? This feels like an accident waiting to happen."

"Don't worry, it'll be fun." Percy shifted the oars in his hands and the boat started moving, the oars sliding effortlessly through the shimmering water. "See how I'm doing it?" Nico nodded. "Now you try, just move the way I do."

Nico tried imitating Percy, moving the oars through the water.

Percy looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Wrong way Nico, like this."

Nico watched him. It looked like maybe he wasn't going fast enough, so he tried going faster. All at once, the boat stopped moving forward and instead started strenuously moving around in a circle.

They went around a few times before Percy let go of his oars and started laughing, loud and deep, like he never saw anything funnier in his life. Nico was not amused. He dropped his own oars, and for a while they drifted in a circular direction, Percy laughing and Nico trying to end his life with the weight of his glare alone.

When he finally calmed, Percy wiped the mirth from his eyes. "Sorry, I should have been more clear. You were rowing backwards, but man you were really going for it and--" He started laughing again, and Nico was starting to get angry.

Before he knew it, he was rising to his feet.

Not the best idea he ever had. Percy caught on and tried to abort his movement, but Nico panicked when Percy grabbed him, and roughly pulled away. Percy managed to keep his grip but lost his balance, and together they tipped over the side of the boat and into the water with quite a spectacular splash.

The cold water shocked him for a moment, and then Nico was surfacing, dark hair plastered to his face as he coughed up water he had swallowed in surprise. He didn't know what was worse: the soaked jeans clinging uncomfortably to his skin and waterlogged shoes weighing him down, or the fact that when Percy surfaced next to him, he was laughing all over again.

And Nico couldn't even muster up the energy to be angry. He was just too wet and miserable. At the very least, Percy was just as soaked as he was.

Percy eventually climbed back into the boat, and when he reached over to give Nico a hand up, his eyes were shining. Somehow, that was enough for Nico to take his hand and let himself be pulled up from the water.

When they were both re-seated, Percy was still smiling, and okay, maybe it was a little funny. Well, Percy's face before they hit the water certainly was. Remembering Percy's saucer eyes and mouth that formed a perfect, slow motion O, Nico couldn't stop himself from laughing. It started shy at first, but soon he was laughing outright, his body shaking with laughter.

Percy looked at him in shock for a moment, and then he was smiling his crooked smile, shaking his head.

"You know, I feel like there's a joke I should be making about _The Little Mermaid_."

Nico didn't know what he was talking about, and he said as much.

Percy gave him a look of absolute betrayal. "You've never seen _The Little Mermaid_?"

Nico shook his head.

Percy stared at him for a moment. "You're good to shadow travel again, right? Solace cleared you?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I don't need his permission, but yeah, he stopped giving me grief about it." For the most part anyway.

Percy grinned. "Good, 'cause I'm going to need you to come with me to Manhattan. This atrocity cannot stand, and mom's been wanting a visit anyway."


	6. A Drop in the Ocean

α

As it turned out, shadow travel wasn't the smartest choice of transportation for their trip, at least not so soon after their last quest.

Percy had heard all about Nico's disappearing act thanks to the combined forces of Coach Hedge and Will Solace. Coach Hedge had been regaling anyone who would listen with tales of War, Death, and their valiant satyr protector. As private of a person as Nico was, he strangely didn't seem to mind the coach's much exaggerated storytelling. Then again, maybe it wasn't so strange, if the look on Nico's face while in the coach's company was anything to go by. Even when the son of Hades was angry at him, Percy noticed that he couldn't maintain the hardness in his eyes when looking directly at the coach. His dark eyes would soften, and that was when Percy knew he wasn't the only one that counted a satyr as family.

Will Solace, on the other hand, Nico had less patience for. While Percy had always known Will to be a rather laid back type of guy, he certainly made exceptions when dealing with the son of Hades. There hadn't been a day Percy had spent with Nico that didn't have Will tracking them down at one point. And after witnessing more than a handful of arguments between them, with results that ranged from Nico excusing himself from Percy's company and leaving with Will to Nico growing exasperated and shadow traveling away just to spite the blond, Percy was pretty up to date on Nico's health or lack thereof.

But Nico seemed to be doing much better, and it wasn't like the apartment was that far away. Still, as soon as their feet touched the familiar slate gray carpet, Nico's knees buckled.

"Shit," Percy said. He was thankfully right next to him, Nico's grip still on his forearm, so he managed to prevent the other boy from falling to the floor. Percy caught him with an arm around the middle, and helped walk him over to the couch. "It was too soon wasn't it?"

Nico collapsed back-first against the couch and shrugged. "There was only one way to find out. Besides, I'm mostly fine anyway. Just give me a minute."

Percy pressed his lips together and gave Nico a look. "Mostly fine, huh?" He pointed a finger at Nico and slowly approached.

Nico narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you doing?"

Percy leaned down and poked the side of Nico's head, pushing the slightest bit. Nico's body put up no resistance, and he fell right on over, sprawled on his side on the couch.

Nico gave him a dark look from under his bangs and Percy grinned crookedly, but before either of them could say anything they were interrupted.

"Percy!" Sally Jackson appeared from around the kitchen doorway, brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. "You should have told me you were coming home!" She wasted no time sweeping him into a tight hug, the same hug she'd taken to giving him since he started questing, relief in the press of her arms and grateful for the opportunity to welcome him home.

She released him after a moment, and then she was turning to the boy on the couch, a warm smile on her lips. "And I see you brought a friend. It's good to see you Nico. I never got the chance to thank you for helping Paul and I out."

That's right, the last time his mother and Nico had seen each other was at the battle in Manhattan. Percy remembers the horror he felt when Sally and Paul woke up, bumbling their way into a fight they couldn't possibly understand, Kronos's barrier making it impossible to help them. And he remembers Nico clearing a path toward them on the other side, and the bizarre but awesome Sally and Nico kill combo, and how it gave him the confidence to leave them behind.   

Nico smiled at her, and something about it struck Percy as oddly foreign. "It's good to see you too." He moved to sit up, struggling the slightest bit, and Sally frowned. "But there's nothing to thank me for, you two had it covered."

"We really didn't, but it's sweet of you to say so," Sally smiled. Then she looked at him, took in his pale skin and tired eyes, the drooping set of his shoulders. "Are you okay? You look a bit tired."

"I am a little tired, but I'm okay."

Sally gave him a look of concern. "If you're sure." She turned her gaze to Percy. "So what's the special occasion? You hardly ever come home during the summer."

Percy looked at her, his expression serious. "We're here to correct a horrible mistake. Nico has never seen _The Little Mermaid_."

Sally raised an eyebrow. "A horrible mistake huh?"

Percy nodded. He was playing it up, but he was completely serious. The other day when they were exchanging embarrassing stories, Nico had acted like he understood what Percy was talking about when he said he'd been obsessed with the movie, when in reality he had no idea whatsoever. It didn't mean anything to him passed Percy wearing fishtail pants, and it occurred to Percy just how much basic kid stuff Nico had missed out on.

"Right. Does this have something to do with the Great Crab Escape of fourth grade?" Sally asked. From his spot on the couch, Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe."

Sally looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Alright. Why don't you help Nico to your room. I'll see about cooking something up in the meantime."

"Will do," Percy said. "By the way, where's Paul?" He asked carefully.

Sally gave him a knowing look. "He got hooked into teaching summer school this year. He should be home in a few hours."

It wasn't that much of a buffer, but Percy was glad he wouldn't have to see Paul just yet. After _The Incident_ that happened on his last visit home with Annabeth, neither Percy nor his step-father could look each other in the eye.

After his mother disappeared back into the kitchen, Percy moved to help Nico up, but Nico batted his hands away.

"I can get up on my own, thanks."

"Whatever you say, man." Percy backed off, but not too far. He had learned rather violently that Nico didn't like to be touched, and the question as to why was something he often wondered. Nico hadn't been like that the first few years they knew each other.

As Nico got unsteadily to his feet, Percy stayed close. Despite Nico's glare, Percy lingered until he was sure Nico could keep his feet, and then lead the way to his bedroom. "Come on, I have some ambrosia in my room."

Once inside his bedroom, Percy made a beeline to his dresser and pulled out a bag of ambrosia. When he turned around, Nico was sitting at the edge of Percy's bed, looking all kinds of uncomfortable.

Percy rolled his eyes and threw the bag to Nico, who caught it easily despite his fatigue. "Lay down before you fall down. I'll get the movie set up."

He turned to set up the DVD player by the small television on his dresser, and heard Nico sigh behind him before flopping down against the bed. "Why is it so important that I watch this movie anyway?"

"Because you can't fully appreciate my shame until you do."

After setting everything up, Percy flung himself by Nico on the bed, and they both settled down to watch the movie. Nico laid on his stomach, his head propped up on his hand and his elbow digging into Percy's blue comforter. Percy hunkered down beside him, their shoulders brushing for a brief moment.

As the movie played, Percy couldn't keep himself from talking every now and then.

"King Triton was my fave. Which is really weird now that I think about it. The real Triton is such an ass."

"I thought Ariel was an idiot."

"Sebastian was the single reason for the Great Crab Escape of fourth grade. I'll tell you later."

After the Kiss the Girl scene, Nico finally got what Percy was talking about the day at the lake, and hey, maybe it wasn't the best joke to make considering the context, because Nico blushed and refused to look at him for the rest of the movie.

By the time the credits rolled down the screen, Nico was falling asleep next to him. And as the DVD cycled back to the menu, Percy felt his own eyes fall shut, Nico a solid, warm presence beside him.

β

When Percy woke up, he immediately noticed Nico was gone. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he made his way out of his room, through the hall and into the living room, where the familiar scent of his mother's special blue cookies hung heavy in the air.

Nico wasn't in the living room, so he headed towards the kitchen, but stopped just before the threshold. On the other side of the wall, he could hear his mother and Nico talking.

"Is something the matter, dear?" He could hear the concern in his mother's voice.

"Uh...no, it's just that, I didn't know you were a writer."

Percy heard the shuffling of papers, the plunk as a pen was set down. "Oh, it's just something I do in my free time. After I went back to school, I really got into literature. I ended up taking a writing class, that's how I met Paul. I don't have a lot of time to work on it right now, but one day there's going to be a novel out there, and it's going to have my name on it."

It was silent for a few moments.

"My...my mother was a writer too," Nico said very quietly. "I mean, not like you, she wrote songs. In Italian. My mother was a singer."

"Really? I don't speak Italian, but I'd love to hear them."

"That's...not possible. She never recorded anything, and well, she died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry Nico. I'm sure she was lovely, her and her songs. If she was anything like you, she'd have to be."

Percy could clearly imagine the red in Nico's cheeks and the uncomfortable set of his shoulders as he shrugged.

They were both silent for a minute, before his mother spoke again.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you inherit a love of writing, songs or otherwise, from your mother? The Gods know Percy didn't get it from me."

Percy almost wanted to make himself known so he could defend himself. But he wanted to hear the conversation play out even more.

"I don't think so. I mean, I might have, once. I had an overactive imagination, and I can't say I've never written anything. But I haven't been to school in a long time, not since I found out I was a demigod. And I haven't picked up a pen or pencil in just as long."

"...Have you ever thought of going back to school? You're old enough to be starting high school in the fall, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but...it's been too long. I don't think I could do it. Besides, it's not like I haven't learned anything since. I have...people I can talk to. They teach me things."

"You know, I felt the same way once. Did you know, I dropped out of high school?"

"...No, I didn't know that."

"I didn't want to, but circumstances conspire and all that. Before I knew it, twelve years had passed and I didn't even have my GED. But then something happened. Well, you don't need to hear the dirty details, but I realized something. It's never too late. It was hard at first, really hard. But I finished up my high school credits at an adult school, and walked away with a diploma. After that, I felt like I could do anything. And now, I sit here before you as a college graduate, a declaration I never dreamed I'd be able to make so many years ago."

"..."

"Nico, you know you could always-"

Percy's concentration broke when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped about a foot in the air in surprise. Whirling around, he came face-to-face with Paul. Gods, he didn't even hear the front door open.

"Do I even want to know what you're doing out here Percy?" Paul asked.

"Um, no?"

Paul sighed. With one hand on Percy's shoulder, he steered them both inside the kitchen.

Nico and his mother must have heard the exchange, because they both gave Percy a look when he entered their range of sight.

It was an awkward dinner all around. 


	7. Crypsis

α

They had been away from camp for just a few days, but if his headlong plummet into demigod-hood had taught Nico anything, it was how fast everything could change. How you could lose everything in one sudden breath.

As Nico pulled them both from the shadows just west of the amphitheater, there was a distinct lack of demigods milling about. And given the fact that it was summer, with no quests being issued since the repossession of the Delphic Oracle, it was more than a little strange.

For a full minute they stood in the uncharacteristic silence of camp, until it was broken by a familiar clamor somewhere in the general direction of the mess hall.

"Son of a bitch, I can't believe this!" Clarisse's voice was loud in the distance, along with a chorus of shattering objects and the yelps of campers fleeing from what was undoubtedly another daughter of the war god's rampage. "Fifty cents, she gave me fucking fifty cents. I'm going to kill that nymph!"

 As the sound of destruction continued, Will Solace came jogging in their direction. He looked like someone pushed him face first in the dirt, and some of his blond hair was oddly singed, but otherwise he looked like he was about to fall over from laughing any second. He was practically shaking from it, and Nico had rarely seen him with a bigger smile.

"Oh, hey guys!" When Will saw them, his blue eyes brightened in a way that made Nico's pulse flutter the slightest bit, and he fidgeted next to Percy as Will came to stand before them.

"Hey Solace, what's up? What's got Clarisse's panties in a twist this time? Didn't she already have her weekly rampage on Tuesday?"

"Oh man," Will laughed, "you totally missed it, but this nymph and..." Will actually had to stop talking he was laughing so hard. "Remember when Jason took his shirt off at the arena and Drew Tanaka was so distracted she ran headfirst into Clarisse's chest armor and knocked herself out?"

Percy and Will shared a laugh at the memory, and even Nico couldn't keep his lips from curving up.

"Well, this was even better. She was the first one back from her 'quest' and she...that's right, you two left before the counselor meeting. You should probably go see Annabeth. I think she's in the arts and crafts building."

In the distance, the sound of violence continued, and Percy nodded his head distractedly. "Yeah, sure, but I think I'm going to see what's up with Clarisse first. You know, before she destroys the whole camp." Percy looked at Nico and grinned crookedly. "Besides, it's been a while since Clarisse and I really talked. Why don't you go on ahead and see what Annabeth wants. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Nico looked at him oddly, but Percy didn't stick around for a confirmation, and soon Nico was left standing there alone with Will Solace.

And naturally, that could only lead to one thing, which was Will Solace standing there alone, because Nico shadow traveled out of there well before Will could tell him that he shouldn't be shadow traveling.

β

Nico was well versed in the art of still life.

He hadn't always been, rather the opposite in his pre-demigod years, before he awakened the part of his soul that dwelled among the dead; he had been a whirlwind of infinite questions and constant movement, all enthusiasm and wonder.

Now Nico's voice is quiet, his tread silent as the grave. Now the shadows beckon him closer, reach for him with inky fingers and cold hands. If Nico doesn't want to be noticed, no one will notice him.

There had been a long running joke that Nico needed to put a bell around his neck so that people would know he was there.

For the first time, Nico wishes that he did, because then he wouldn't be stuck in this position, an unwitting and unwilling witness to the unveiling of the sexcapades of one Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.

When Nico shadow traveled into the back of the arts and crafts building, Annabeth and Piper were sitting at one of the tables, their heads bent close together, their voices strangely hushed. Vellum paper was stacked on the surface of the table and drafting tools were lined up neatly.

He was just about to step out from the shadows when he got wind of the conversation, and froze.

"Okay, so one time Percy wanted to introduce chocolate into the bedroom," Annabeth said, absently twirling a protractor in her hands. "Which would have been fine, only..."

"Only what?" Piper asked.

"Well, Percy got the...wrong kind of chocolate."

"What do you mean the wrong kind?"

Annabeth couldn't meet her eyes for a moment, looked at the object in her fingers. "He got the kind that hardens, like the kind you put on ice cream."

Piper was silent for a moment. Then her lips turned up slowly, her kaleidoscope eyes shining. "Oh my gods, don't tell me..."

Annabeth actually blushed. "Right, so the chocolate hardened, and we got stuck together."

"You got stuck," Piper couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice. "So you mean..."

"Yeah, we got stuck together...in the pubic area."  

Piper was really laughing now.

"And that's not even the worst part," Annabeth said, her face flushed the shade of embarrassment.

"Right, so after we got stuck, we tried to maneuver our way to the bathroom. That's when Percy's step-dad came home.

"Oh my gods."

"He startled us, and we...ended up on the floor."

Piper's eyes were starting to tear up, her body shaking with laughter.

"Anyways, we ended up needing a pair of scissors. Paul pushed them under the bathroom door."

Piper actually fell off the chair she was laughing so hard.

Somehow, Nico felt like he missed a bullet.

It didn't take long for the conversation to change after that, and Nico waited a suitable amount of time to make himself known.

When he felt it was safe, he stepped out of the shadows and made his way over.

"Annabeth, Piper," he greeted.

"Nico, I was wondering when you'd be back." Annabeth smiled at him, and Nico found that he couldn't meet her eyes, his cheeks feeling warm. "Where's Percy?"

"He should be here soon. Will told us you had a counselor meeting while we were gone." When Nico looked up from where he was intensely studying his shoes, Piper was looking right at him, an amused glimmer in her eyes like she knew exactly how long he'd been standing there, though Nico was sure that couldn't be true.

And then for the first time, he realized that Piper had probably shared with Annabeth just as much as Annabeth had shared with her, and he thanked every god he knew that he managed to escape that part of the conversation. And for a crazy moment, he felt like telling Jason he was right about the bell thing. In his internal hysteria, it seemed like the safe thing to do.

"Well, we figured out how we're going to fund the temple, but we should wait until Percy gets here so I can go over it with you two together."

"Right," Nico said. "I'm guessing it has something to do with the lack of campers around today."

"That it does," Piper said. And after a few seconds of Nico standing there awkwardly, she gestured to the seat next to her. "You can sit down you know. I'm not known to bite. Not that I can't be provoked." She winked at Annabeth, who smiled and rolled her eyes, and Nico had a horrible feeling that the line had something to do with the part of the conversation he was lucky enough to have missed.

He sunk down in the seat next to Piper. On the table, he noticed the blueprints Annabeth had been drafting.

"Are those your plans for the temple?"

Annabeth's grey eyes sharpened, and she shifted the paper so that Nico could have a better look.

Nico couldn't help but stare. "Did you come up with this after Jason asked you?"

Annabeth shook her head and smiled. "Not even I work that fast. I've actually been thinking about a temple for a while now, before I met Percy even."

"It's amazing," Nico said. He pointed at a notation Annabeth made near the windows of the temple. "Is this supposed to be enchanted glass?"

"Yes," Annabeth said, the pitch of her voice rising in excitement. "Every morning, the rising sun will shine through the windows and make a god's symbol on the floor. The stain of the window is enchanted so the symbol will change day to day."

"Hmm," Nico looked at the drawing. "If you put a stained skylight here, you could do the same thing with the moonlight." Sunlight wasn't exactly an appropriate medium for some of the gods.

Annabeth leaned in close to him over the table, some of her blonde hair brushing against his shoulder. "That's...actually a great idea. But will the moonlight be strong enough?"

"It could be, all we have to do is..."

For a while Nico lost himself in the conversation, in Annabeth's sharp mind and Piper's thoughtful suggestions that tended to be catalysts for 'a-ha' moments.

He didn't even notice Percy come in until Annabeth got startled by a hand on her shoulder, and Percy ended up with his hands raised, three weapons of various size and make pointed in his direction.

"Woah there," Percy waggled his eyebrows, which brought to attention the beginnings of a bruise starting to form around his left eye, no doubt courtesy of Clarisse. "I give up." He said jokingly. "The odds are not in my favor."

Annabeth snorted. "Like that's ever stopped you before."

Percy just grinned at her.

Annabeth eyed him, but apparently decided not to comment on the black eye, even though Piper dug a hand through the pocket of her jeans and tossed him a baggie with a square of ambrosia.  

Percy grinned in thanks, and Nico guessed that he came out of the confrontation with Clarisse with a lot more than a black eye, based on the way Percy gingerly took a seat next to Annabeth and shoved the ambrosia in his mouth.

"Well, now that you're both here, I can finally send you out on your quest."

"A quest? What, is Rachel back from New Rome? Are her oracle powers working again? That's great and everything, but I was honestly expecting a longer vacation. Does it specifically mention me in the quest or..."

"Relax seaweed brain, it's not that kind of quest. Rachel is still trying to decipher the Sibylline books in New Rome."

Piper smiled. "And technically, these quests were kind of your idea Mr. Vacation."

"What?" Percy tried to share a disbelieving look with Nico, but Nico found he couldn't look Percy in the eyes anymore than he could look at Annabeth, and Percy frowned.

"Remember what you said about Nico running errands for Hades? Well, I talked it over with Chiron, and he managed to strike a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Percy asked suspiciously.

"One thousand quests. The gods will agree to provide the capital to finance the temple if we complete one thousand quests."

"One thousand quests! Annabeth, how are we supposed to-"

"There's a reason hardly anyone's here at camp, Percy." Annabeth held up a paper so that both Nico and Percy could see it. "Everyone's doing their part. And this one is yours, undoubtedly the first of many. You better get started."

Nico stared at the paper, at the words "Please find my Sonny," and at the crude drawing of what appeared to be a very small Chihuahua. "You have got to be kidding me. That's our quest?"

Piper smiled. "Annabeth has been coordinating with the counselors to send everyone out in teams of two and three, mixing older campers with the younger. And since you were the last to show up, you get the last pickings for our current batch of quests."

Nico narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What about you two?"

"Hey, someone has to stay behind and coordinate the campers as they return and the quests as they come in," Piper said. "I'm sure we'll mix it up eventually, but until then, happy Chihuahua hunting."

Percy pouted, and turned his sad baby seal eyes on Annabeth. "Really, we're not on the same team? Can't we break the rules a little and have a team of four? Coordinating everyone's a big job."

For just a second, Nico thought they were saved.

But before he knew it, he was standing outside the arts and crafts building with Percy Jackson, a flyer for a missing Chihuahua in hand, and Annabeth's parting words of "Nice try Jackson."

For a moment, they stood together in silence.

"Well, I guess that explains it."

Nico raised an eyebrow at Percy. "Explains what?"  

"Why a nymph would tip Clarisse fifty cents."


	8. Dark that Follows

α

Percy Jackson wasn't exactly the most prideful demigod to ever quest, but it's not like he was unaware of his feats over the past six years either.

He had survived excessive involvement in two wars, a trek through Tartarus, a handful of prophesies, and the fury of every god less than tolerant of wise cracks from a teenager, which happened to be most.

Since the age of twelve, he had never failed a quest. He had failed people, sure. The line starting with Bianca twice over and ending with himself; ever since Tartarus, more and more these days.

But he had never failed a quest. So people at camp tended to rely on him, and the gods paid him more interest than he liked.

Sometimes, he even felt like the hero everyone said he was.

This wasn't one of those times. This was the complete opposite of those times. This was Percy Jackson, hero of prophecy upon prophecy, about to fail a quest for the first time in his life.

To think that it would be this. Out of everything, this was the insurmountable task.

Oh, Annabeth was going to love this. Clarisse would never let him live it down. And it would be a heavy blow to him in his friendly competition to one-up Jason. Not that the guy was likely to bring it up, seeing as Percy wasn't suffering this indignity alone.

For the first time, Nico had a legitimate quest of his own, and they were about to fail spectacularly.

All because they couldn't find a stupid Chihuahua.

β

According to the paper Annabeth had shoved at them, Sonny the Chihuahua was last seen at the intersection of 71st and Madison Ave.

Nico offered to shadow travel them, but after the kickback from last time, Percy opted for the more traditional form of demigod travel.

"This is a terrible idea. Animals tend to dislike me, they get spooked on sight," Nico followed him reluctantly into the stables. Of course, given the fact that the two of them were ass last to receive their quest, all the stalls were empty. "Or, you know, they flee in advance of my arrival. That's a new one. Convenient, but new."

"Very funny, Nico." Percy wasn't worried about their flight plans. Blackjack was rather particular about who he let ride him. He never asked, but he supposed it had something to do with Blackjack getting saddled with Luke. Very rarely did he let anyone ride him but Percy, and when he did it was almost always at Percy's request. There were exceptions, though.

Percy closed his eyes and concentrated, a smile tugging at his lips at Blackjack's usual response. He opened his eyes and looked at Nico, the two of them exiting the empty stables.

"The last time we had this conversation, I ended up hitching a ride on Mrs. O'Leary to Connecticut. She was passed out five seconds after we got there, and that was carrying just me. So, instead of the trip knocking two out of three of us on our asses, let's just take Blackjack. Besides," Percy smiled knowingly, "I have it on good authority that Nico di Angelo isn't as disliked by certain flying horses as he would like everyone to believe."

Nico looked at him for a moment, his dark eyes considering. "What have you been told?"

"Dude, you fed him sugar cubes. He told me everything. He was very bored while he was healing up, and Blackjack gets chatty when he's bored."

Nico sighed. "Of course he does. Anything else I should know?"

"Let's see," Percy thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, he told me he licked you, but you didn't taste near as badly as you smelled."

"..."

"Not that you smell. I mean, not to me anyway. Er-what was it he said, 'Lots of demigods smell weird, it ain't their fault'." Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Nico gave him the most unimpressed look Percy had ever seen. "Right. Well, tell him thanks for the compliment. I guess."

"Yeah, sure...I'll do that."

The ensuing silence was kind of uncomfortable, but thankfully Blackjack chose that moment to show up and save them both.

 _Yo, boss!_ Blackjack alighted on the ground a few feet away from them, his black wings folding close to his body, feathers glossy in the sunlight. _Got another quest coming up? Ready to fly?_

"Hey Blackjack. Yeah, we got another quest around Central Park. The two of us could use a lift. Think you can handle it?"

Blackjack snorted. _Who do you take me for Boss? I'll stomp on anyone you ask._

"Percy, are you sure he can carry the two of us?" Nico was eyeing Blackjack's flank. There was a jagged, raised scar where Orion's arrow had pierced him (Blackjack had a lot to say about that asshole, Percy had found). The hair around the wound was short, just starting to grow back from where it was shaved. "I don't think he's healed enough."

Blackjack huffed, offended. _Tell him I'm fine, boss. I could take on an army._

Percy had to smile. This situation was very familiar. "He says he's fine, oh Will Solace of the pegasi."

At first, Nico just blinked. And when Percy's words fully registered, his face went so red and he looked so offended Percy couldn't help but laugh.

"That's not-I didn't," Blackjack took that moment to wander over to Nico. They sized up one another, then Blackjack whinnied and licked the side of Nico's face. "Ugh, okay, fine, I get it." He wiped off the horse spit. "You're fine, I'm fine, we're all fine."

_Glad we could all come to an understanding. Let's go boss, my wings are itching already._

Percy grinned and pulled himself up onto Blackjack. He reached down to give Nico a hand up, who gave it a look like it was a hissing cobra. Percy wiggled his fingers. "Times a wasting, Nico. If we don't finish this quest quickly, we'll probably come back to the worst of the leftovers again. Do you really want to get stuck in that loop?"

Nico rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to be pulled up behind Percy. His hands settled gingerly on Percy's sides, barely there. "Yeah, well, if that happens, don't be surprised if I jump ship to another team. Maybe Jason will be free."

Blackjack spread his wings, and Percy sighed theatrically as they took to the sky. "Wow, Nico, just wow. To think you would abandon me in my time of need like that. I am both hurt and offended. I thought I meant more to you than that."

"I don't know, seems like Annabeth had a little too much fun giving us, but specifically you, this quest. I might have better luck on my own."

On his own.

Percy knew that Nico was probably teasing him, but still, it bothered him just a little. The timeframe to fix things between them was so short, just the summer. He didn't want it getting away from him.

He thought for a moment, than grinned.

"Well, I didn't really want to play this card, but you forced my hand. Sorry Nico, you can't bail on me if we get stuck with another quest that's more annoying chore than quest. You owe me exactly one chore."

"How do you figure that, exactly."

"One ranch in Texas, a herd of flesh eating horses, and one million pounds of manure. Don't you remember?"

Nico was silent behind him for what seemed like a long time. Then, "Yeah, I do."

And his hands, for the briefest moment, tightened on Percy's sides. "I remember."

γ

After Blackjack dropped them off at the intersection where the dog was lost, Percy felt a little lost too. He didn't really know what to do in this situation. Besides Mrs. O'Leary, who could shadow travel to him on command, Percy had never had a pet. He wasn't exactly up to speed on how to find a lost Chihuahua.

Surprisingly, Nico seemed to know what he was doing.

They went into a nearby gas station where Nico bought a map of the area, and snagged a table outside of a little bistro at the corner.

"Okay," Nico unfolded the map on the table and smoothed it out. "We know that Sonny the Chihuahua was last seen here," he pointed to the intersection of 71st and Madison Ave with a pen he had borrowed from a passing waitress. "A small dog like that couldn't have gone too far, maybe half a mile at most. It won't just run in a straight line, it will wonder around," he drew a circle around the area the dog was lost, a rough half-mile radius.

Percy was staring, and Nico caught his look. "What?"

"How do you know this? What happened to the whole 'animals don't like me' thing?"

Nico fiddled with the pen. "You know that old pirate saying, 'Dead men tell no tales'?

"Wouldn't be much of a pirate if I didn't, would I?" Percy grinned, and Nico offered him a blank stare.

"Yeah, it's not really true. Actually, it's the opposite. You can't get the dead to shut up. Well _I_ can but, that's not the point." Some of Nico's dark hair had fallen in front of his eyes, and he pushed it back, his gaze on the map before he looked at Percy. "Anyways, you'd be surprised about the things you can pick up in the Underworld."

"I'll say, going by the demonstration. What other random crap do you know?"

Nico shrugged. "I wonder. Kind of surprised I even remember this. Not like I ever expected to put it into practice."

They ended up eating lunch at the bistro, Percy finishing off half of the sandwich Nico couldn't eat, and then they hit the streets. They checked all the local veterinarians, animal hospitals, kennels, groomers, animal shelters, even pet stores. No one had seen any unsupervised Chihuahua, let alone one with the dog tag: Sonny. Why the gods didn't put contact information on the collar of their pets, Percy would never know.

After that didn't work, they went to Kinko's and had them make up a poster with a picture of a generic Chihuahua. _Please help us find_ _Sonny._ _He was last seen at the corner of 71st and Madison Ave._

They didn't really have any money to offer as a reward, so they just added the phone number of the animal shelter that agreed to act as the go between for their cell-phoneless selves.

They split up, Percy to the north, and Nico to the south. By the time they met up again, the area was plastered with lost dog signs, and night had fallen. They ended up taking Blackjack for a quick ride over to Percy's apartment to crash for the night since it was close. While they were there, Percy used the internet to check the shelters in the nearby counties. Some of them had photos of found pets, but none of them had anything about Sonny.

The second day wasn't any more successful than the first. They checked in with the animal shelter, combed the area, asked around, but no one had seen Sonny.

By the third day Percy was convinced that the dog was dead somewhere, never to be found again. The quest was doomed, probably from the start. How long exactly were they supposed to keep looking, anyway?

"Well, this sucks," Percy sighed, kicking a stray pebble in his path. "Are you sure you can't tell if he's alive or not?"

Nico frowned as he followed Percy down the sidewalk. "I can't check animals Percy, it doesn't work like that."

"Of course it doesn't," Percy grumbled. "That would be too convenient." He stopped walking and glared up at the sky. Oh, the gods were probably having a great time. Minus the one with the missing dog of course.

Nico came up beside him and put his hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground. "Sorry we couldn't find him, Percy. I know this messes with your track record or whatever. Maybe if you had someone else helping you-I mean, what I said about animals being spooked by me is true. Maybe that's why..."

Percy sighed. "It's not-" He turned to look at Nico fully, and then stopped in his tracks. Because there he was, that little son of a bitch. He was sitting on the sidewalk, about 30 feet behind Nico. And he was staring at Percy, like he knew he'd been looking for the little shit for three days, and was very amused by this fact. Since when were Chihuahuas able to look so smug?

Nico looked up at him when he trailed off. Percy grabbed one of his arms, and steered him around before he could get a word out. Nico froze when he saw Sonny, and for once didn't jerk out of Percy's grip.

"Percy, that's not-" But Percy wasn't paying attention. The dog took off, and Percy chased after it as fast as he could. There was no way he was going to lose it now. He could hear Nico shout after him, and knew that he would follow.

The dog was surprisingly fast for having such little legs. He cursed when it made a turn for Central Park, following it and hoping he didn't lose it in any of the underbrush.

After what seemed like forever, Sonny ran into a dead-end, with nothing but an impassable thick line of trees in front of him.

Percy grinned, confident in his victory. "I got you now you little-" The dog just turned around and looked at him, that bizarrely smug look turning into-into something else.

And it finally occurred to Percy, just how dark this part of the park was. How that, even though it was the middle of the day and a busy time of year, he couldn't hear anything at all. No signs of life.

"Percy, I don't know what that is, but it isn't a dog!" Nico finally caught up to him, his stygian sword already unhooked from his belt.

The dog didn't make any move towards them, but Percy still had Riptide out in a heartbeat. "No, that is a Chimera. And that's not even the worst part."

And sure enough, as the tiny dog shed the mist, a giant beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a ten-foot long snake headed tail emerged. It promptly opened its mouth and shot a torrent of flame at them.

Percy ducked and rolled to the left, and Nico did the same to the right. When Nico got back to his feet he said, "Ok, if this isn't the worst part what is?" The ground where they were standing was incinerated, just a smoking pile of dirt. Around them, several trees had caught fire.

"The worst part," Percy said grimly, "Is who 'Sonny' belongs too. Damn, I can't believe I didn't remember."

"...And who does Sonny belong too?"

Percy heard a giggle behind him, and he spun his body towards the new threat, all the while keeping the Chimera in his sights.

She looked just like he remembered her. She wore the guise of a fat, mortal woman in a denim dress, the tip off being her strangely stilted eyes.

"You remember us, do you? Well, you should. After all, you took a death dive in the Mississippi just to get away from my Sonny here. Oh, momma's never been so proud!" She laughed.

Shit.

Echidna was blocking their exit, and there wasn't a whole lot of room to fight something as large as a Chimera, not to mention its mother.

"By the way," Echidna smiled. "I do have to thank you for finding my Sonny. A little reward is in order, don't you think?"

No, Percy couldn't really think right now. They'd been set up. How did this quest make it through, and to him specifically? Chiron would never accept a quest from any monster. He would have been diligent with all the quests received. And Annabeth...Annabeth had said the quest was on behalf of a god. So the question was...which god put the quest through to Chiron? Which god had set them up?

_Which god had set them up?_

In the back of his mind, Percy could still hear Echidna talking. But it wasn't really registering, not passed the blood beating in his ears.

_Which god had set them up?_

Back when he had started out, he was warned about his fatal flaw. His loyalty. But what they never warned him about was the other thing. The Poseidon thing. The rage.

_Which god had set them up?_

In Tartarus, where he was pushed and pushed and pushed, it finally happened. He had exploded. And after, after he was aware of what was truly frightening about children of Poseidon, he tried his best to keep his temper in check.

_Which god had set them up?_

But it was always there, just beneath the surface.

And really, it was only a matter of time until the still waters broke again.

And for the second time, Percy exploded.


	9. Sick of It

α

Nico had never understood, not really.

For two generations, the Big Three agreed to never sire anymore heroes.

Because they were too powerful.

Because they affected the course of human history to too great a degree.

Because they caused too much destruction and carnage.

Despite being a child of the Big Three himself, despite fighting side by side with Percy and Jason and Hazel, witnessing their skill and their might. Nico hadn't understood.

Even after his brush with his dark side, after Nico looked into someone's eyes and unmade them.

But in Central Park, with a Chimera and the Mother of Monsters, that's when it started to click. The true significance of what it meant to be a child of The Big Three.

The power.

And the weakness.

β

After the Chimera's first attack, the four combatants stood in a loose circle. Nico was positioned a short distance directly across from Percy, his Stygian sword clenched tightly in hand, the Chimera and Echidna flanking them from both sides.

Though it was the first to attack, the Chimera didn't seem in a hurry to do anything further, content to let Echidna prattle on.

"Tell me, what kind of reward would you boys like? It was endlessly entertaining, watching you run around looking for Sonny. So often we're the ones having to hunt you down. It was a nice change, you boys coming to us so enthusiastically." Echidna laughed, her snake eyes fixed unwaveringly on Percy. "We get dinner and a show."

With Echidna's attention fully on Percy, Nico shifted his focus to the Chimera. It stood towering on all fours, its claws kneading the dirt in anticipation. Its serpent tail swayed, and its eyes stayed fixed on Percy Jackson. Not once did it look at Nico.

It was more than a little strange. Mother nor son seemed the slightest bit concerned with Nico.

And while he didn't share in the glory afforded the seven after Gaea's fall (a feat well known, especially amongst monsters, so close were they to victory), and while he generally wasn't known or considered a hero (he preferred to work from the shadows anyway, not that it made a difference when he didn't), he was still a child of The Big Three.

His presence in a battle situation was far from benign, and their current environment, the tall, thick trees and the abundance of shadows they cast, should have given any enemy pause.

It was kind of unsettling, how little regard they seemed to have for Nico's being there. Completely unthreatened, eyes only for Percy. Like they were waiting for something to happen.

Nico wracked his brain, tried to remember what he knew about Echidna. He didn't know much. She was considered the Mother of Monsters, wife of Typhon. She was part of the war effort against the Olympians, but wasn't killed. Zeus spared her because...he conscripted her to test heroes.

Nico tightened his grip on his sword, a thread of anxiety unfurling in his stomach. Whatever was going on, it couldn't be good. He needed to end it before it started. And their inattention to him, well, he wasn't going to get a better opportunity to attack.

He pulled at the shadows, drawing them towards him. They came eager as always, but before he could meld with them he was hit with the sudden smell of ozone. In one heartbeat he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise, and in the next, pain.

An electric current shot up from the ground like his shoes were conductors. It surged through his blood, quickly and without mercy, his muscles contracting and the whole of his body buzzing. His feet were stuck to the ground as sure as if he was standing in cement, and he probably would have screamed if he could get control of his tongue.

He was paralyzed, one moment of frozen agony.

It happened so fast, no one else seemed to notice. Not that they were paying him any attention in the first place.

But a lot can happen in a moment.

And when Nico shook it off, the sound of his heart unsteady in his ears, he turned to look at Percy.

It was hard to describe, the look on his face. Nico had seen Percy angry before. He'd seen his face contort, his eyes harden, the tension in his body as he had pushed Nico against the floor, the sharp edge of Riptide against his throat. The look of betrayal as he launched himself at Nico, before Alecto intervened, before they were both taken before Nico's father. The bitter disappointment directed towards him after the jar, because Nico could have told him who he was but chose not to. Yes, Percy had been angry with him. Him, probably more than most.

But Nico had never seen this.

Percy's eyes. It was like everything good, everything Nico had ever loved about Percy Jackson flickered, once, twice, gone.

It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger.

It was like looking into the eye of the storm.

There was a quality to the air that wasn't there before. An odd kind of quiet. An eerie sort of calm.

Echidna had finally stopped talking. She lost her ever present smile, and she finally shed herself of the mist, a tenseness in the coil of her serpentine lower body.

Nico was so distracted he almost didn't react in time when the Chimera suddenly sprung at him. It was thanks to years of battle honed reflexes that he managed to roll away at the last minute, its claws ripping deep in the ground where he was just standing. It didn't waste any time and charged at him full speed. As it gained on him, he slipped into its shadow, appearing behind it ready to strike. He slashed, and the snake tail whipped towards him, its fangs clamping down hard around Stygian steel. He struggled with the snake as the front of the Chimera's body turned towards him, the elasticity of the tail allowing for a double front. He had to abandon his sword as a fireball was lobbed at him. He dodged to the side, almost running into a tree. The Chimera was close after him and wasn't so lucky. It crashed into the line of trees, felling some upon impact. As it struggled to right itself, Nico took advantage and clambered as quickly as he could onto its flank. The snake's mouth was still in possession of his sword, so he flung himself at it, got his hands on the hilt in midair and used his body weight and momentum to jar it free as his jump took him to the ground. The blade was sticky with venom, and it was too bad that snakes were immune to their own. He could have really used the advantage.

He was vaguely aware of Percy's battle with Echidna, but he couldn't afford to take his eyes off of the Chimera. The snake shot towards him again, but Nico wasn't making the same mistake twice. He managed to deflect the first strike, knocking the snake slightly off balance, and immediately ran to meet its second. But just before sword met teeth, he ducked down low, the head of the snake passing just over his own. Crouched low to the ground , he arced a slash upwards, the head of the snake falling hard into the grass.

The Chimera roared, wood breaking as it ripped its front from the copse of trees, Nico barely managing to not get trampled as it reared back. He got a few good slashes in before it rounded on him, and then he was dodging fire again.

The next few minutes were spent fighting off its teeth as it tried to bite his head off. He slashed at it, trying to get distance, but it was slowly backing him towards the trees. He considered summoning some skeletons, at the very least they would be a good distraction so he could go for a kill shot, but the bastard wasn't giving him anytime. If it wasn't coming at him close range with fangs, then it was a fireball at long.

However...that just might work.

Nico moved to the side and tried for distance. He dodged the expected fireball, and as the Chimera charged him once again, Nico clapped his hands together as well as he could while holding a sword, and made an upward motion. Inches in front of him, the ground cracked and glassy black obsidian bloomed from the earth, sharp and jagged. The Chimera didn't have time to slow down. Its momentum carried, and it impaled itself.

It was a close one, the lion's maw inches from Nico's face, just enough obsidian, just in time. It disintegrated into ash, leaving nothing behind but the residue on Nico's sword.

Nico took a moment, took a heavy breath, and then his eyes immediately sought out Percy.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he found.

Echidna was on the ground, soaking wet. Around her, the grass was wilted, like someone had wrung out every drop of water. Her body was contracting, shaking, fingers digging uselessly into the dirt, and now that Nico was no longer fighting the Chimera, he could hear her. She was making soft, watery gasps, and every couple of seconds she would spasm violently, pain in every line of her body. No, it wasn't pain. It was agony. Water leaked out of her mouth, but in seconds it would make its way back in.

And Percy.

He was just standing there. Just staring at her with those terrible, foreign eyes.

"Percy?" Nico took a step forward, and when those eyes fell on him, he froze.

Echidna's body jerked and she screamed, the kind of scream Nico would hear in the Underworld when he was passing by the Fields of Punishment.

The scream of someone being tortured.

She went back to twitching and gasping again, and Percy's eyes went back to her.

"Percy...Percy you need to stop," Nico slowly moved forward, his feet careful as he made his way towards Echinda.

Percy looked at him again, and it made him tense. There was something about Percy, about the air around him.

He could practically taste it.

The rage.

"Percy-this isn't you," Nico came closer to Echidna. His heart was pounding, and he felt a little sick. Percy didn't seem like he wanted to stop anytime soon.

"And if you won't stop it," Nico stood over Echidna's wracking body. "Then I will," He thrust his sword, and it was over. Echidna scattered into dust.

Percy looked at the place where Echidna used to be. Then he closed his eyes, and when he looked at Nico again, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Those were the eyes he knew. This was Percy.

Percy couldn't hold his gaze for long, something like shame turning his face away. "Right. So that just happened."

Nico stood there willing his mouth to work, let the shock of the moment run its course. Then, "Percy. What in Hades just happened?"

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "It's kind of a long story."

Nico slumped down into the wilted grass, felt the exhaustion of the battle hit him now that the adrenaline passed. "I've got time."

Percy sighed and dropped down next to him, so that they were sitting side by side. "Yeah, I guess I do too."

γ

"Nico, do you ever dream about Tartarus?"

The question took him off guard. It wasn't something he ever wanted to talk about. Nico fiddled with the grass. "Sometimes," he said.

"And when you dream, do you get scared?" Percy asked. "Is it a nightmare?"

Nico remained silent. 

"Annabeth does, all the time. She has nightmares, wakes up shaking and fighting. All I can do is hold her until it passes. Sometimes she doesn't want me to touch her, and I just sit with her, until her eyes come back into focus." Percy shook his head. "It's suppose to be easier you know, having someone. But it's not, and sometimes I think it's harder." Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Because I don't know what she's going through. It isn't the same."

Nico didn't know what to say to that. "Percy...you were there together. How is it not the same?"

Percy's lips curved up without an ounce of happiness. "I dream about Tartarus but...I'm never scared." He shrugged. "I'm just angry. So, so angry. There isn't room for anything else." Percy gestured towards the clearing. "What happened just now...it happened down there too. I know I don't have to tell you what it's like but...a lot of bad things happened. And I just. I snapped." He chuckled without humor. "Sometimes I wonder, you know, just what scared her the most? Are her nightmares about the monsters? Tartarus in general? Or are they about me?"

Nico looked at the ground, biting his lip, thinking. He'd had no idea just what Percy and Annabeth had brought with them back from the pit.

He took a deep breath, and then bumped Percy's shoulder. "Don't flatter yourself, Percy. Annabeth's tough, and as someone who's seen you 'snap' up close, I can definitely say, you're not that scary."

Percy looked at him, a vulnerable quality to his eyes Nico did not expect. "Not that scary, huh? Nico, you looked pretty shook up."

"About what you were doing, yes. Torture...that's not something I ever expected from you. But scared, of you? I could never be scared of you Percy. Scared for you, sure. Of you? Never. Who do you think you're talking to?"

Percy was silent for a moment. "I'd be scared of me. Ever since the pit, it's been a struggle to keep my temper. Back on the ship, when Piper needed Annabeth for a quest, I...kind of had an episode. I wrecked the plumbing and...I think I scared Piper a little. And now this." Percy gestured around them.

Nico brushed some hair from his face. "This..." He had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Percy, do you know what kind of monster Echidna was? Anything about her?"

Percy shrugged. "Not much. The last time we met she said something about...testing heroes I think? It was when Zeus thought I had the Master Bolt and-" Percy cut himself off and looked at Nico.

"We got this quest. If Zeus was testing you...it was like they were waiting for something," Nico said.

"I probably just failed, didn't I?"


	10. The Promise and the Threat

α

The ride back on Blackjack was awkward, to say the least.

They didn't say a word to each other, and unlike the times before, Nico refrained from holding on to him. Percy didn't want to read too much into it. In the past couple of weeks, he got closer to Nico than he'd ever been at anytime during the previous four years of their acquaintanceship. Nico was as skittish as a stray cat, but slowly, surely, Percy was making strides.

The incident in Central Park was unfortunate. Not in the sense that it happened; Percy wasn't in the business of feeling sorry for monsters that tried to kill him or his friends. It was unfortunate in the sense that he didn't want anyone he cared about to see him like that ever again. It was unfortunate in the sense that he'd promised himself he'd control it better after Tartarus, after Piper looked at him that way on the Argo II. Yet here he was.

Annabeth's gray, watery eyes from that time haunted him. And no matter how much Nico tried to brush it off, Percy now had a vision of wide, dark eyes, a white knuckled grip on a sword held ready, and the slow approach one might use on an un-trusted animal.

Nico didn't touch him, and Percy was determined to in no way associate it with a lack of trust. Just Nico being Nico. Nothing to do with Percy's incident.

And it would have been fine, until they hit some air turbulence. Lost in his own mind, Percy didn't notice the Stymphalian birds until they were right on top of them.

Nico pitched off the side, losing his grip on Blackjack when the pegasus made a last minute evasive maneuver that had them plummeting. Percy's heart stopped beating for a second, caught in the suspended air as sure as Nico was. He heard nothing but the wind rushing through his ears, saw Nico almost float away from him, wind whipping his dark hair.

And then they were reaching for each other, Percy locking his hand around Nico's forearm and yanking. He'd just managed to pull Nico towards himself when gravity reversed and Blackjack stopped their descent ten feet from the ground. Nico crashed into his chest just in time for the bulk of the flock to clip Blackjack's left flank. They were both thrown from the horse and Percy could only tighten his arms around Nico as they hit the ground and slid a good couple of feet in the dirt.

They laid there together, dazed.

Percy had taken the brunt of the fall. His shoulder had hit the ground hard, and as Nico pulled himself out of Percy's arms, pain lanced up his shoulder, all the way to his fingertips and Percy groaned.

"You okay?" Nico watched him as he carefully sat up. Blackjack swooped down and landed next to them, the Stymphalian birds circling the sky around them like vultures in sight of a meal.

"Never been better," Percy said, trying not to wince. At least it was his non-dominate side. "What about you?"

"I'm not the one that took the hit." Nico looked like he wanted to say more, but he bit his lip and shook his head. "Whatever." Nico stood up and brushed some of the dirt off his pants. "Stay here and have some ambrosia. I'll take care of the birds."

Percy raised his eyebrows, but dug through his pockets for the bag of ambrosia he'd rationed just in case; not that he'd expected they'd need it for their 'find my dog' quest. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" He shoved a square of ambrosia in his mouth, the taste of chocolate chip cookies, invariably died blue, familiar on his tongue. Stymphalian birds were a pain in that there were just so many of them. In the past they used noise to confuse their flying patterns. It grouped them together and made them easier to take out. Alternatively, an attack with a wide range like, say, the breath of a mechanical dragon would work. But they didn't have either of those things right now. Well, Percy supposed that he could try singing, that was one surefire way to cause pain to everyone within hearing distance. Maybe if he scream-sang at them? What were the chances they'd just leave if he did? Would it be worth the embarrassment with Nico and Blackjack as witnesses? Percy tired to stand up, but his shoulder burned and Nico glared at him when he cursed.

Nico unsheathed his sword, so black it almost glowed in the fading twilight. "Don't even think about helping, Percy. If you try, I'm stealing your horse and leaving you here." Beside them, Blackjack snorted. "Scratch that, I'm taking your horse anyway. It will be easier to deal with them in the sky."

Percy agreed with the sky part. If they engaged them from the ground, the birds could swarm them more easily and attack them from a distance without coming into sword swinging range. The part where it would be Nico on the pegasus, while he sat all safe on the ground doing nothing, that was the part he had a problem with.

"You can't summon skeletons in the air, Nico."

"I don't need to."

"So what's your plan? What can you do up in the air, and by yourself? The sky's not exactly the best battleground for a Hades kid."

"Nice point, but you missed the part where it isn't any better for you."

"it's kind of better!"

"No it's not!"

"It is, because I have sky combat experience! Point made, I'm the one going up there." Percy stood up and made for Blackjack. But before he could make it, Nico punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Fuck, Nico!" His whole arm felt like it was going to fall off.

"And that's my point. I'm going up there. Haven't you done enough already?"

They argued for a little longer, but the birds, having waited long enough apparently, started to fire their razor sharp feathers at them, and in the end Nico took Blackjack and they took to the sky. Percy was not happy about it, and he may or may not have pouted, but he stayed put and waited as his shoulder stitched itself back together.

In the sky, he watched as Blackjack darted to and fro. Nico raised his stygian sword, and the twilight sky darkened to pitch around the birds.

It was pretty much over after that. Nico cut through them like wet paper, the dust glittering as it fell, the fading light of the setting sun catching.

By the time Nico made it back to the ground, Percy's shoulder was feeling much better. His mood, however, was not.

A different kind of silence filled the air as they continued their trip back to camp. The awkwardness was gone, and in its place an unhappy silence fell.

Nico still didn't touch him.

β

Just when Percy thought the silence would last all the way back to camp, and maybe for a couple of days considering it was Nico he was dealing with, he was a little surprised when the silence was broken.

"You don't have to do that you know," Nico said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"When we were thrown off of Blackjack. You turned us so that you'd take the impact from the fall and I wouldn't. You don't need to do that. I'm not a kid."

"I didn't do it because I think you're a kid, Nico."

"You don't need to protect me out of some misplaced sense of guilt, either."

Percy ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "That's not it."

Behind him, Nico huffed. "Then what was it, exactly?"

"I don't know. It happened fast, and I acted on instinct."

"And what? Your first instinct was to protect me?" Disbelief hung heavy on Nico's words, and Percy was taken aback.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Percy asked.

Nico hesitated. "It's just-never mind, forget I said anything."

"Nico," Percy pressed. "Seriously. Tell me why."

"...just don't feel like you have to do things like protect me because you feel guilty," Nico hedged.

"I already told you that wasn't it, and you didn't answer the question," Percy frowned. "Why do you automatically think I protected you out of guilt."

Nico was silent.

"Nico. You know that you're my friend, right?"

Percy couldn't see him, but he knew that Nico was fidgeting with his skull ring. He felt the weight of Nico's eyes on the back of his neck for a moment, and then it was gone.

"Right," Nico said quietly. "How could I doubt?"

As they were talking, the familiar sight of Camp Half-Blood came into view, and Percy was grateful. Despite Nico's confirmation, he got the impression he was treading dangerous water somehow. And he didn't understand why.

γ

It was around midnight when they made landfall. The camp was quiet, safe, and all at once the exhaustion settled in. Ever since the fight with Echidna, Percy had been trying not to think about it. What it could mean.

They parted with Blackjack at the stables, and made their way towards the Big House.

Somehow, Percy found himself slowing down, until finally he stopped walking altogether. There was a pressure building in his chest, the weight in his stomach so heavy he couldn't move. His heart rate doubled, and he felt cold. For a second he was back in Tartarus, Annabeth screaming at him to stop, her ghostly face twisted. He blinked and he was back at camp. And suddenly he was terrified.

Nico took a few seconds to realize Percy had stopped. He stopped and turned towards Percy.

"Percy?"

Percy just shook his head, helpless. He didn't know what kind of expression he was making in that moment, but Nico's dark eyes flashed in concern. He came closer and Percy tried to get a grip on himself.

"Percy?" Nico repeated.

Percy let out a breath. "They can't know, Nico."

Nico just looked at him, so Percy continued. "What happened on the quest. What happened with Echidna. They can't know. Annabeth can't know."

"Percy, we need to tell them what happened," Nico said softly. "If it was a test, a test that we failed, there might be some real consequences we need to be prepared for. And who's to say they won't try something like this again with someone else, someone who can't fight back quite like we can. We need to warn them."

"Do you really believe that, Nico? Everything about this quest was personal. And we don't know if whatever bullshit test Zeus decided to throw at us was failed or passed. We don't even know what the test was about. For all we know, we could have passed it with flying colors. And if it was a failure, we didn't fail anything. I failed. Just me. So whatever consequences there are will be mine. Zeus has wanted me dead for years anyway. And he's had as good as luck with that as anyone. Nobody else needs to know."

Nico did not look convinced. "Percy..."

"Please, Nico. She can't know," Percy knew he was begging but he didn't care. "She can't know that I did it again."

Nico bit his lip and looked down at his feet, like Percy's eyes were too much for him.

Finally he sighed and looked back up at Percy, crossing his arms. "I suppose it's your decision anyway. If you don't want anyone to know, then they won't. We'll just tell them that the dog died, and that's why we failed the quest. That way it won't technically be a lie."

With Nico's words, Percy could finally breathe again. Without really thinking about it, he rushed forward and enveloped Nico in a hug. The boy went dead still against him. "Thank you, Nico. You don't know what this means."

After Percy spoke, the tension gradually loosened out of Nico's body, and the boy rested his head against Percy's chest for a moment. It was warm, and Percy felt his heart beat calm. Too soon, Nico broke away from him.

"No. I think I do," Nico gave him a painful smile. "Let's go get this over with. It's been a long couple of days."

Percy followed after him towards the Big House, and tried not to worry.

It was just one little lie.

What could possibly happen?


End file.
